ChannelWorld

In 1996, networking was at its nascent stage. However, this was the time when the market scenario was favorable for the ones who set up computers and provided reliable inter-connectivity. A young entrepreneur envisaged this as a sunrise industry, which resulted in the genesis of SmartNET Technologies. Bhavesh Mehta, the company’s MD, had his guns trained on the networking landscape for long. He, along with Hitesh Thakkar, the company’s director, made use of this opportunity and grew manifold in almost 12 years.

The company advocates the need of a first-hand experience for its customers.  This works out well for SmartNET because the recall value skyrockets.

Talking about the monitoring systems in place at their organization, Mehta says, “We have set up a remote infrastructure management technical assistance center doing management work for organizations that don’t have the necessary skilled resources. So we have access to their networks over the internet and solve their problems as when they pop up.”

SmartNET gambles more on quality than on the banknotes. This is indeed a smart move because quality deliverables are something that every client looks at. So in cases of emergency, the company would rather lose money than compromising on the quality.

“Book the losses early and get on with it,” is a clear message sent across the company. Quick independent decisions with hassle-free processing helps solve issues. Over the years, SmartNET has learnt from the projects that it took up, which were initially beyond its capacity. Now, the company has learnt to say ‘No’ and informs the clients of solutions that are not included in its portfolio. The company takes up projects only after it has the necessary infrastructure in place.

Honesty is yet another value that the company is unwilling to compromise on. Informing the clients about all possible solutions, suggesting the best ones without indulging in vendor-pushing, offering solutions at a price which is comfortable but not necessarily the highest, and not making the customer spend needlessly are among the principles that Smartnet holds dear. “This helps us attract customer loyalty and at times even if they are not satisfied with the transaction they come back to us because they like our policy and the way we deal with things,” he says.

Mehta plans to strengthen the company’s existing portfolio in terms of geographies and services before worrying about diversification into other markets. Clear focus on the job in hand, he feels, is the key to success.
“When it comes to networking, we don’t need a gestation period to understand and implement requirements of the clients. So growing with the help of these customers, we would like to expand into other geographies,” he says. The company presently aims to achieve the top spot in the country within networking.

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INTERVIEW

Bhavesh Mehta, MD, Smartnet Technologies plans to strengthen the company’s existing portfolio in terms of geographies and services before worrying about diversification into other markets.

Could you elaborate on the birth of Smartnet?
MEHTA: In 1996, when networking was still in its nascent stage, it appealed to me as a sunrise industry. I was an aspiring entrepreneur and the market scenario at the time was favorable for the ones who could help set up computers and provide reliable inter-connectivity. So hailing from an engineering background, along with Mr. Hitesh Thakkar, I founded SmartNET Technology in 1996. This technical know how, along with a risk taking ability, has helped us to grow manifolds in the past 12 years. And since then SmartNET has provided reliable networking services to the biggest among Indian corporates.

What are the guiding principles followed at SmartNET?
MEHTA: Honesty is a virtue that we are unwilling to compromise on. We inform the clients about all possible solutions; suggest the best one without indulging in vendor-pushing; offer these solutions at a price which is comfortable but not necessarily the highest; and we do not make the customer spend needlessly. This helps us attract customer loyalty and at times, even if they are not satisfied with the transaction, they come back to us because they liked our policy and the way we deal with things. We also try to constantly improve and better previous records through collective growth by combining the available skills and resources.

Do you have any specific monitoring systems in place at your organization?
MEHTA: We have set up a remote infrastructure management technical assistance center doing management work for organizations that don’t have the necessary skilled resources. So we have access to their networks over the internet and solve their problems as and when they pop up. With respect to the clients, we feel that customers seeing and experiencing things first hand generates a much better recall value. So we conduct seminars where we perform live demonstrations of a network crash and bring it back to life in minimum possible time. All these systems help us interact in a better manner with our prospective clients.

Have your burnt your fingers in any way over these years?
MEHTA: Well, yes. Initially we did face the problem of taking up projects that were beyond our capacity. But now, we have learnt to say a no and inform the clients of solutions that are not included in our portfolio. Now, we take up projects only once we have the necessary infrastructure in place.  Even then, in case of such an emergency, we would rather lose money than compromising on the quality of the delivery to the client. We just book the losses early and get on with it. This, along with quick independent decision making and hassle-free internal processing helps us solve the issues in such cases.

So what are the future plans for the company?
MEHTA: We plan to strengthen the company’s existing portfolio in terms of geographies and services before worrying about diversification into other markets. Clear focus on the job in hand, I feel, is the key to success. When it comes to networking, we don’t need a gestation period to understand and implement the requirements of the clients. So growing with the help of these customers, we would like to expand into other geographies. And with this, we aim to achieve the top spot in the country within networking.